Arista decision upheld by the ITC

In the ongoing patent litigation battle between Arista Networks and Cisco Systems, Arista has been handed another judgment, not in their favor. The US International Trade Commission has upheld the findings of an administrative law judge in December stating that Arista infringed two Cisco Systems patents on networking equipment. The conclusion of the trial called for an import ban and a cease and desist order on related products.

Mark Chandler, Cisco’s senior vice president and general counsel, wrote in company blog post: “The Commission’s decision is the latest of several findings that Arista has intentionally and unlawfully copied Cisco’s proprietary technology.” Chandler continued by saying “by confirming Administrative Law Judge McNamara’s Initial Determination, the Commission brings the total confirmed Arista patent violations to five”.

The ITC action is one of two Cisco has brought against Arista. In the other, the ITC found Arista infringed three of five patents related to Ethernet switch products.

“Cisco’s goal remains to force Arista to cease the intentional and pervasive infringement that comes from its ‘culture of copying’,” he said.

However, in a statement sent to Network World, Marc Taxay, Arista vice president and general counsel said the company believes Cisco’s litigation “is part of a broader effort to preserve its market position at the expense of competition and innovation.”

He said: “Cisco’s motives are revealed through its assertion of the ‘577 patent against a 20-year-old technology that is embedded in standard chips we buy off the shelf from vendors like many others in our industry including Cisco.

“Cisco has never asserted these patents against any other network switch vendor or third party chip supplier. And, given that it filed its patent application for this technology in 1998, and the patent expires in June 2018, Cisco has had ample years to do so.”